The present invention relates to bicycle-carrier devices for motor vehicles.
The applicant has already proposed, in his Italian patent application No. TO97A000219 of Mar. 18, 1997, a bicycle-carrier device for motor vehicles, comprising a member for supporting a bicycle, provided with means for fixing it in cantilever fashion to the back of a motor vehicle, in which said supporting member is shaped to receive on it a bicycle set in an upright position in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle, said supporting member comprising two cradles for supporting the wheels of the bicycle, provided with corresponding clamping means, as well as auxiliary means for clamping the bicycle, which are designed to prevent oscillation of the latter that might displace it from said correct vertical plane of positioning of the bicycle.
In the case of the above-mentioned known device, the said auxiliary clamping means comprise a pair of independent jaws provided with respective tightening knobs which are designed to engage the frame of the bicycle on opposite sides in a position corresponding to the crank axle. However, experience has shown that the wide variety of models of bicycles existing on the market entails an extremely wide range of conformations and different arrangements of the frame, with consequent problems of adjustment of the device previously proposed to any type of bicycle used. This would entail the pre-arrangement of different models of the device for different types or families of bicycles, with consequent costs and greater complications in warehousing and marketing of the device itself.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a device of the type previously proposed, which, on the one hand, always guarantees perfect stability of the bicycle during transportation and, on the other, enables a bicycle to be mounted on it with operations that are extremely simple, easy and fast, and which, at the same time, still presents a relatively simple and economical structure and moreover is easily adaptable substantially to any type of bicycle.
In view of achieving the above purpose, the invention comprises a bicycle-carrier device of the type referred to previously, moreover characterized in that the aforesaid auxiliary clamping means comprise at least one bicycle-clamping auxiliary arm connected to said supporting member in an orientable way about an axis which is substantially perpendicular to the vertical plane of positioning of the bicycle. The possibility of orienting said auxiliary clamping arm enables the device according to the invention to be adapted to any bicycle configuration.
In a first embodiment, the aforesaid auxiliary clamping arm is mounted articulated to said supporting member and is provided at its distal end with means for engagement on the central vertical tube for attachment of the handlebars. In a first example, the aforesaid supporting member has a channel-shaped body made of plastic material, the end portions of which define the aforementioned cradles for supporting the wheels of the bicycle, said body being internally provided, in its central part, with a metal reinforcement to which the aforesaid auxiliary clamping arm is articulated.
In a second embodiment, the aforesaid supporting member comprises:
a supporting splined shaft designed to be mounted in cantilever fashion on the rear part of a motor vehicle, with its own axis set parallel to the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle;
a pair of supporting arms extending in cantilever fashion from said shaft in two opposite directions that are substantially horizontal and perpendicular to the axis of the shaft;
each of said supporting arms having one first end connected to said splined shaft by engagement of the latter in an opening having a complementary section that is made in said first end, so that said supporting arm can be mounted on said shaft in different positions differently oriented about the axis of the shaft;
each of said supporting arms having a second end carrying an element which defines the above-mentioned cradle for supporting a respective wheel of the bicycle.
Preferably, at least the cradle element designed to receive the front wheel of the bicycle is connected to the respective supporting arm in an articulated way.
In one first version of said second embodiment, the auxiliary clamping arm is provided at its distal end with means for engagement on the central vertical tube for attachment of the handlebars of the bicycle, as in the case of the first embodiment. In the present case, preferably the aforesaid auxiliary clamping arm is mounted in an articulated way on an intermediate supporting structure, which is connected to the splined shaft by engagement of the latter inside an opening having a complementary profile made inside said intermediate supporting structure, and which can thus be mounted in positions differently oriented about the axis of the shaft. Preferably, the above intermediate supporting structure consists of a pair of parallel plates having first ends connected to the splined shaft, and second ends presenting holes set facing one another for engagement of an articulation pin of the auxiliary arm for clamping the bicycle.
A further preferred characteristic of the invention, which relates to the versions in which the aforesaid auxiliary clamping arm is provided with means for engagement of the handlebar tube, said auxiliary clamping arm is adjustable in length. Again in the case of the above-mentioned embodiment, said auxiliary arm can be turned down in a non-operating position of reduced encumbrance by rotation about its own axis of articulation.
The aforementioned means for engagement of the central vertical tube for attachment of the handlebars of the bicycle comprise a pair of jaws articulated at the end of the auxiliary arm that is further away from the supporting member, each of said jaws being provided with a clamping knob.
In a second version of the above-mentioned embodiment that uses a splined shaft for supporting the device, the auxiliary clamping arm consists of a pair of clamping elements provided with means for engagement on the two pedal cranks of the bicycle in the vicinity of the axis of rotation of the pedal cranks, substantially without direct contact with the frame of the bicycle. Experience has in fact shown that, if on the one hand bicycle frames may vary widely in terms of configuration, the conformation and arrangement of the crank shafts are substantially uniform. In addition, the possibility of mounting the aforesaid clamping elements in different angular positions on said splined shaft bestows further flexibility on the device.
Preferably, the above clamping elements consist of two plates having first ends connected to the splined shaft by engagement of the latter within an opening of complementary shape made in each plate, in such a way that said plates may be mounted in different positions differently oriented with respect to the axis of the splined shaft, said plates having moreover second ends provided with the aforesaid means for engaging the pedal cranks. Said plates are moreover each provided with a knob for causing the plates to come together against the action of elastic means.
Thanks to the characteristics described above, the device according to the invention guarantees perfect stability of the bicycle during mounting of the latter. At the same time, the operations necessary for mounting a bicycle on the supporting device according to the invention are simple, easy and fast. Basically, the user only has to lift the bicycle up and position the wheels on the two supporting cradles, which are already able to support the bicycle upright by themselves, without the user having to bother about holding the bicycle in position during the subsequent clamping manoeuvre. This latter manoeuvre is performed by means of the aforementioned auxiliary clamping arm. In the case of versions with clamping on the handlebars, the said arm is turned around its own articulation until the clamping jaws are brought onto the part of the handlebars that is to be engaged, so that the jaws can then be tightened by means of the corresponding knobs. In the case, instead, of the version with plates for clamping the pedal cranks, these plates must be simply tightened by means of the respective knobs until the bicycle is clamped in position. According to a technique in itself known, each cradle for supporting the wheels is moreover provided with a clamping clip. Of course the device can be designed for carrying two or more bicycles simply by providing a set of similar supports on the same common element for anchorage to the motor vehicle. In the case, for example, of versions with splined shaft, a number of pairs of supporting arms can be mounted in a sliding way, each pair being provided with respective supporting cradles for a respective bicycle.
The device according to the invention is characterized by high flexibility, in the sense that it can be easily adapted to even very different configurations of bicycle frames, with consequent advantages in terms of warehousing and marketing as compared to the device previously proposed.